American al Qaeda militant urges attacks on Bush

( Reuters )- American al Qaeda militant Adam Gadahn urged Islamist militants to welcome U.S. President George W. Bush with bombs when he visits the Middle East this week.

"Welcome him not with flowers and applause but with bombs and traps," he said in an Arabic aside on a 50-minute video posted on the internet on Sunday, which was mostly recorded in English and aimed at the American public.

Gadahn , who is also known as Azzam the American, devoted most of the tape entitled "An Invitation to Reflection and Repentance," to a detailed explanation of the shortcomings of U.S. foreign policy and Western Christian civilization and their defeat at the hands of Islam and Muslims.

"The first question Americans might ask is: has American really been defeated? The answer is yes and on all fronts," said Gadahn , who was wearing a long beard, glasses and an Arab-style red and white checkered scarf.

"American and coalition officials have stated repeatedly that they are unable and unwilling to face the mujahideen in Afghanistan and Iraq militarily but are still trying to win the battle for hearts and minds, which they have also lost in spectacular fashion despite the equally spectacular amounts they have spent in pay-offs and propaganda."

Gadahn also listed Pakistan, Chechnya, North Africa and Somalia as areas where the United States was losing its battle against Islamist groups.

The authenticity of the tape could not immediately be verified, but it was posted by As- Sahab , al Qaeda's media arm, and had been advertised in a banner on an Islamist site for days.

Gadahn is a California-born convert to Islam and the first American to be charged with treason since the World War Two era. He is believed to be in Pakistan.

Gadahn has made a number of videotaped messages on behalf of al Qaeda. In August he warned the United States and its allies of impending attacks on embassies and diplomats in retaliation for U.S. actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In an earlier tape in May, he warned of attacks worse than the Sept 11. suicide hijackings against the United States.

The treason charge against Gadahn carries a maximum punishment of death. The FBI has been seeking to question Gadahn since 2004 and the U.S. government has offered up to $1 million cash reward for information leading to his arrest.

Gadahn converted to Islam from a Jewish-Christian family when he was 17 and a few years later moved to Pakistan. He was previously known as Adam Pearlman and grew up on a goat ranch outside Los Angeles.